PASADENA, Calif.—Kaiser Permanente in Southern California has implemented a new depression screening initiative for breast cancer patients after research showed such intervention was highly effective at identifying patients in need of mental health care, scientists said Jan. 4. “Early identification and treatment for mental health issues is critical, yet depression and other mental health issues are often underidentified and undertreated in breast cancer patients,” said lead author Erin Hahn, a research scientist with Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “Our study showed that the use of implementation strategies to facilitate depression screening is highly effective and provided insights into how to create a sustainable program to help our cancer patients achieve the best possible health.” Historically, it’s proved difficult to incorporate mental distress screening during cancer care, since those patients tend to be vulnerable to mental health challenges. Kaiser Southern California researchers set out to determine if a process of incorporating depression screening into routine clinical care with support from researchers might make a difference. …